[Results of polychemotherapy (a VMCP/VCAP program) in multiple myeloma]

62 patients with multiple myeloma were primarily treated with the combination vincristin + melphalan + cyclophosphamide + prednisolone (VMCP). In therapy failures and relapses, respectively, vincristin + cyclophosphamide + adriamycin + prednisolone (VCAP) were administered. Under primary treatment with VMCP in 28 patients (45%) remissions were obtained, in 22 patients (36%) incomplete remissions and 12 patients (19%) were estimated as therapy failures. The secondary application of VCAP increased the total number of the remissions to 32 (52%). Incomplete remissions and therapy failures more frequently appeared in the clinical stage III and in undifferentiated myelomas. The median survival time of the total group was 46 months. With more than 60 months patients with remission showed significantly larger median survival times than those ones with incomplete remission (14.5 months) and therapy failures (6 months), respectively.